$1 coins: Unwanted, unloved and out of currency

By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN

Updated 1437 GMT (2237 HKT) November 30, 2013

The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The United States Mint has designed many one-dollar coins. Here are some of the more interesting ones. This "Flowing Hair" silver dollar is believed to be one of the first silver dollars created by the U.S. Mint.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The front of a pristine 1799 "Draped Bust" silver dollar is shown. It sold for $822,500 at a two-day New York auction that ended Saturday, November 16.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The "Seated Liberty" silver dollar was first produced in 1836 and ceased being made five years after the Statue of Liberty was installed in New York Harbor in 1891, according to the U.S. Mint.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The "Trade" dollar was intended for trade in the East to compete with the European dollar, but was devalued when the world price of silver dropped, according to the U.S. Mint.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint. the "Morgan" silver dollar was produced from 1878-1904 and again from 1921 until the "Peace" dollar took its place.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the silver "Peace" dollar was produced from 1921 to 1935 to commemorate the end of World War I.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the Eisenhower dollar was struck two years after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower died in 1969. It was produced until 1978.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The Susan B. Anthony dollar was made between 1979-1981 to remember her struggle in defending women's rights. It was produced from 1979-1981, according to the U.S. Mint.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the "American Eagle" silver dollar is based on the 1916 "Walking Liberty" half dollar.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the Sacagawea coin, first made in 2000, was the first coin to have public meetings to help decide the design.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The "Three Sisters" coin features a Native American woman tending her garden. The three plants represent corn, beans and squash, according to the U.S. Mint.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – The U.S. Mint launched the Chief Justice John Marshall silver dollar at the Supreme Court on May 4, 2005, in Washington.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the coin featuring President George Washington was the first coin struck in the Presidential $1 Coin program.

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The United States Mint has designed many different one dollar coins, here are some of the more interesting ones. 14 photos

U.S. dollar coins through history – According to the U.S. Mint, the coin featuring Martha Washington was the first coin struck with a first lady.

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Story highlights

Far more than half of all $1 coins ever minted are stored in government vaults

U.S. Mint stopped making $1 presidential coins in 2011 due to a lack of public demand

Government Accountability Office would like to see $1 paper notes phased out

A Senate bill aims to improve the circulation of $1 coins, but passage seems doubtful

To all the great mysteries of life, add this: Why is the lowly, tarnished penny so revered, and the shiny $1 coin so reviled?

Pennies proliferate. They fill our pockets. Our jars runneth over.

When we drop a penny, we conduct the ultimate cost-benefit analysis: Should I pick it up?

The report traces the history of the $1 presidential coins from their inception in Congress in 2005, through initial distribution in 2007, through 2011 when the mint stopped making them because of a lack of public appetite to their current ignoble status as the coin that is now costly to store.

The $1 coins have a lot going for them. They are durable and can be used easily in vending machines. They far outlast paper money.

But in the rock-paper-scissors public opinion contest, paper always wins.

The public's preference comes at a cost. The federal government would save $4.4 billion over 30 years -- or about $150 million a year -- if Congress decided to go metal, according to the GAO, which would like to see the $1 paper notes phased out.

One way to tilt public opinion would be to eliminate $1 notes, the GAO said. In Canada and the United Kingdom, public resistance to coins dissipated within years when there was "no alternative to the note," the GAO said.

Dollar coins are also supported by the Dollar Coin Alliance, a group that includes vending and snack food associations, mining interests and a carwash association.

But the Treasury Department -- which currently mints only a limited number of $1 presidential coins for collectors -- is not swayed.

"Minting $1 coins that ultimately end up sitting in Federal Reserve Bank vaults -- and serve no useful purpose for businesses, financial institutions and consumers -- is simply not a prudent use of taxpayer resources," the Treasury Department said when it stopped production of the coins.

So the government continues to mint copper pennies, which are largely zinc, and which since 2006 have cost more than a penny to produce. And it mints nickels, which cost more than a nickel to produce. But it eschews dollar coins.